A Kali in Every Woman: Motherhood and the Dark Goddess Archetype

Wherever
there's a woman in any home
doing her work
screening her smiles with her veil,
she is You, Ma;
she is you, Black Goddess.

Carefully rising
with the light of dawn
to attend with softened hands
to household chores,
she is You, Ma;
she is You, Black Goddess.

The woman who gives
alms, makes vows, does worship, reads
scriptures
all correctly and with a smile
who drapes her sari over the child on
her lap
soothing its hunger with a lullaby,
she is You, Ma;
she is You, Black Goddess.

She can't be anyone
else;
Mother, sister, housewife
all are You.

- Ramprasad (c.a.
1718-1775)

It
is well established in the canons of
Indian thought that every woman mirrors
in herself the divine feminine. The
above piece of poetry goes further and
specifically informs us that every female
has in herself the Goddess Kali. At
first appearances this comes as a surprising
shock, not in the least because of Kali's
horrific demeanor. Envisioned as totally
naked, the visual tales of her terrible
form do not end with her dense black
color or with the skirt made up of decapitated
hands she adorns in her middle, making
a mockery of all conventional images
of reassurance a goddess is associated
with. Further frightening is the necklace
she vulgarly hangs around her neck.
This is no ordinary necklace. It is
made up of heads she has severed from
the torsos of beings who were once as
much living as you and I are at this
moment. And the horrors of horrors,
she stands in an arrogant gesture of
triumph, one leg placed haughtily over
the chest of Shiva, one of the most
powerful deities of the Hindu pantheon,
and who also happens to be her husband.

The truth behind
the mystery of Kali, it seems, is to
not be found by a conventional appraisal
of her physical appearance. Rather a
faithful analysis of the deep symbolism
underlying this mighty Goddess is required
to penetrate her innermost essence.

Traditional opinion
is unanimous in accepting the figure
lying under Kali's feet as being that
of her husband. Here is what the same
poet has to say about this aspect of
her iconography:

It's not Shiva
At Mother's feet.
Only liars say that.

The ancients wrote
clearly that
while killing demons,
saving the gods from their fix,
Ma stepped on a demon child
fallen to the ground.
At the touch of Her feet
the demon boy changed;
suddenly he was Shiva
On the battlefield.

As a good wife
would She ever
put Her feet
on Her husband's chest?
No, she wouldn't.
But a servant is different:
Ramprasad pleads-
place those fear-dispelling feet
on my lotus heart.

In this striking
example, Ramprasad the greatest of Kali's
devotees ever, saves her against the
accusations that she deviates from the
path of a true Hindu wife by subjugating
her spouse. In a glorious moment of
poetic imagery he establishes in the
goddess a power that is capable of transforming
a villainous demon into Shiva, the purest
of all gods. Why transform this evil
being into her husband? She could have
changed him into any 'pure ' soul, why
grant him the status of her spouse?
Why indeed? This may lead us to theorize
that by meditating upon the benevolent
goddess we, who are the wickedest among
all, can achieve this positive transformation.
This suggests that in addition to approaching
the goddess as a child, she can also
be courted as a husband. It must however
be stressed here that there is no sexuality
involved in this purely emotional process.
Beginning her worship as a child we
may ultimately evolve into her husband.
This process mirrors the rhythmic pattern
each of our lives follow, i.e. starting
off as a child to our mother and gradually
developing into husbands to our wives.
Accepting that duality exists in nature,
such a hypothesis indeed projects the
male in an extremely positive light.
But it is the female of the species
who comes out with honors here, by resolutely
establishing that when they are wives
and when they progress to being mothers,
Kali forms an integral part of their
characteristic buildup.

This positive affirmation
does not however explain Kali's blackness
as complementary to her motherhood.
Things fall into place when we recall
how creation manifested itself at the
beginning of the world, when nothing
material existed. This primordial state
was dark. As is Kali, as is the womb,
dark and mysterious. Esoterically speaking
black is not a color, but the absence
of color. It is what remains when all
colors merge into each other, or in
other words the fount which has the
potentiality to give birth to all the
colors of life. Another poet says in
this context:

Is my Mother Kali
really black?
People say Kali is black,
But my heart doesn't agree.
If She's black,
How can she light up the world?
Sometimes my Mother is white,
Sometimes yellow, blue, and red.
I cannot fathom Her.
My whole life has passed trying.

She is Matter,
Then Spirit,
Then complete Void.

- Kamalakanta Bhattacharya
(1769-1821)

It is interesting
to note here that in Egypt too, blackness
is associated with a positive symbolism,
standing for the mothering darkness
of germination. Hence every woman by
virtue of being a potential mother and
possessing the dark, cavernous womb
which grants her this capability, is
a Kali.

Strangely
enough, scarcely having crossed one
hurdle in the positive interpretation
of the Kali icon as a creative matrix,
we are confronted with another contradictory
feature, here namely the necklace of
skulls ornamenting her beautiful neck.
Indeed it is a symbol of death. Believers
in reincarnation maintain that before
it is invested with a physical body
the soul of a man is free and fully
alive since it exists in the spiritual
world, which is it's true sphere of
existence. When it is conceived in the
mother's interior, its death begins.
The womb is thus the symbol of the tomb.
Or for those of us, who prefer to be
cremated, there are the fires which
surround Kali, our archetypal mother.
Thus our physical birth is in a way
our spiritual death.

Equally enigmatic
is the short skirt encircling her tender
waist. The amputated hands which are
strung together to form this garment
represent for her devotees the ultimate
act of devotion. This act consists in
severing of all attachment to karma
and meditating upon Kali as the ultimate
refuge. The path to salvation in this
belief lies not in following the karmic
way but rather giving up one's complete
self in the worship of the Goddess.
As Ramprasad says:

Oh my Mind, worship
Kali
any way you want-
just repeat the mantra
given to you
day and night.

Think
that you're prostrating
as you lie on your bed,
and meditating on the Mother
while you sleep.
When you go about the town, imagine
you're circumambulating Kali Ma.
Each sound that enters your ears
is one of Kali's mantras,
Each letter of the fifty
around Her neck
bears Her name.

Ramprasad says, astonished,
The Goddess Full of Brahman is in every
creature.
When you eat,
think that you're making an offering
to Kali Ma.

Kali contains within
herself all our actions and the results
which ensue thereof. Our hands are the
instruments through which we carry out
our karma, believing ourselves to be
the masters of our own destinies. The
goddess allows no such misconception,
as she is the giver of life and also
its terminator. It is in her that all
acts originate and it is into her that
they finally dissolve. This is the symbolism
implied behind the carelessly flaring
skirt, hobbling with the dynamic goddess,
and arguably the earliest mini skirt
in history.

Thus even the humblest
acts we perform during the course of
our daily lives is to be viewed as an
offering to the Great Mother who is
indeed our sustenance and nourisher,
both spiritually and materially. Rightly
then, one of Ramprasad's poems is entitled
'Satisfy Every Level of Our Hunger O
Mother!' It runs like this:

O Mother of the Universe!
You who provide basic sustenance
And subtle nourishment of all creatures!
Please feed us, Holy Mother!
Satisfy every level of our hunger!

I know the mother
always feeds her hungry child,
Regardless of its foolishness or carelessness.
Goddess Kali, grant the child who sings
this song
Your supreme blessing of total illumination.
Today is the most auspicious day!
Please, Mother, do not delay!

Goddess Kali, my
pangs of hunger for reality
Are becoming unbearable.
Mother! Mother! Mother!
You are the longing and the longed for!
You cannot refuse your child's earnest
prayer!

The question however
remains of Kali's nudity. It is Jesus
who points us in the correct direction
regarding this issue. In the 'Gospel
of Thomas,' he says, in reply to a disciple's
question about when he would come again:
"When you strip yourselves without being
ashamed. When you take off clothes and
lay them at your feet like little children
and trample on them."

Kahlil Gibran, the
Lebanese-American philosopher, elaborates:

Your clothes conceal
much of your beauty, yet
they hide not the unbeautiful.

And though you seek
in garments the freedom
of privacy you may find in them a harness
and a chain.

Would that you could
meet the sun and the
wind with more of your skin and less
of your raiment,

For the breath of
life is in the sunlight and the
hand of life is in the wind.

Forget not that
modesty is for a shield against
the eye of the unclean.

And when the unclean
shall be no more, what
were modesty but a fetter and a fouling
of the mind?

And forget not that
the earth delights to feel
your bare feet and the winds long to
play with your hair.

(From 'The Prophet')

Ramprasad concedes
that ordinary mortals like himself (and
us) could be bedazzled by these stark
truths. He expresses similar sentiments,
and at the same time grants them the
high ground of abstract philosophy:

O sublime Goddess!
O naked oneness!
What is the meaning of your nakedness?
Are you shameless, Divine Lady?
Yet even when discarding
royal silks, and golden ornaments
for earrings, bracelets, and anklets
fashioned from human bone,
you retain the dignity of bearing
suited to the daughter of a king.

What wild customs
you follow, Ma Kali,
trampling on the chest of your noble
husband.
You are the naked intensity of divine
creativity,
while your consort is naked transcendence.

O Mother of the Universe,
this child is terrified by your naked
truth,
your unthinkable blackness, your sheer
infinity.
Please cover your reality with a gentle
veil.
Why have you thrown away the necklace
of pearls
that enhances your divine beauty
Wearing instead this awesome garland
of heads,
Freshly severed by the sword of non
duality?

Truth is not complicated.
An innocent child is untrained in the
manners of the world but this does not
deprive him from living a zestful and
complete life, albeit his/her mother
forms an integral part of his unified
circle of existence. This is what prompted
Wordsworth to say that 'the child is
the father of man.' A child is imbued
with the quality of intuitive wisdom,
which is the undifferentiating intelligence
that existed before the world was created.
Kali's nudity exhibits this free state
of archetypal bliss, of which ecstasy
is a characterizing attribute.

Conclusion

Elizabeth U. Harding
an intrepid Kali adventurer and fan,
describes in her memoirs how laborious
and stressful it is to reach the inner
sanctum of Kali at the Dakshineswar
Temple at Calcutta, owing to the regular
galore of devotees who generally swarm
her temple. After having reached the
inner hall housing the sanctum sanctorum
this is what she says:

"Out of sheer awe
and admiration one's voice automatically
turns into a whisper - yet, there is
nothing intimidating about this place.

Ushered into the
presence of the deity our voices automatically
drop to a whisper, as a tribute of respect
to the divine presence. Finally face
to face with Kali herself, this is what
transpires in the author's mind:

But when one finally
stands before Kali, time seems to stand
still. Everything stops. The people,
the noise - all is mysteriously gone.
One stares with wide eyes, forgetting
even to blink. All one sees is Kali
and nothing else. Overwhelmed with feeling
one whispers, 'I love you.' And from
within she replies, 'You do so much
more for I am the source of your being!'"

This is the spirit
in which to approach Kali. The Great
Goddess herself will then reveal her
mysteries for all of us, solving in
the process, the eternal questions of
life.

Mcdermott, Rachel Fell. Singing
to the Goddess (Poems to Kali and
Uma from Bengal): Oxford, 2001.

Tresidder,
Jack. The Hutchinson Dictionary of
Symbols: Oxford, 1997.

Walker, Benjamin. Encyclopedia of
Esoteric Man, London, 1977.

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Regarding Ramprasad (c.a. 1718-1775), I do not think Kali needs any "saving" from being other than a good Hindu wife. Perhaps it is Ramprasad himself, or (Hindu) men in general, who need be saved from misconceptions about what it means to be a good man &/or husband, in service and expression of the feminine that is embodied within women, wives, and themselves.

And as to this constant theme of being a child, and subservient to the Great Mother....pfui. Any good mother (any good parent) knows that her job is to help her child grow into a self-sufficient, aware, and grounded adult. Indeed, as our source, Kali is us. I don't think she needs us prostrate, as I am sure she is powerful enough to prefer us alert, aware, and responsible with/to the power (and everything else) that is our source, and nature.

I think all the supposed "mystery" serves more modern masculinist visions of the "unattainable" and therefore allows for experts to take over our lives to "save" us from our miserable selves. The Feminine must be honorably approached, but is there for creation. She is fluid, rich , and fertile....none of which is served by inaccessibility.

How "expert" and "priest" (and Christian?) to support confusion that allows for ill-conceived thought and resulting behaviours! We know what our mothers want from us....and no amount of "oh, poor little me" whining can hide that. I think the Goddess is quite happy to have us understand that if we listen, pay attention with the consciousness inherent in her creation, we know what there is to know.

The womb is terrifying only to those who are estranged from their own nature.

by fuckingtwat on 25th Aug 2012

Jai Maha Kali Di!!!!!! You have and always will protect me from evil's harm!!! Bless you dear Ma!!!

by Dallas on 28th Jan 2012

The only form I know of Ma Kali is that of a compassionate mother. She is always there when her children need her and uses all her powers to protect them, love them and be there for them. Infinite compassion and love for her children is what I always see in her.

by Annapoorna Sengupta on 3rd Sep 2006

Om Shri Kali Ama...I Love You!

by Mandy on 16th Mar 2006

about time someone realizes kali is a defination of what a women should be strong, and loving to her childern. me being a kali find it refreshing

by kali on 28th Feb 2006

Jai! Mata Kali

Thank you for another fine article on Kali. However, I think the one from August 2000 is better. I love Kali and have a beautiful statue on Her on my altar. For those genuinely interested in Kali, I strongly recommend a book called Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal by Rachel Fell McDermott. It includes poetry by Ramaprasad and others.

http://www.pandorasbazaar.com

by CP on 31st Oct 2005

thank you for this article, it was really interesting and gave me more insight on my unusual name. It was also really cool to see other kalis.

by kali on 25th Jul 2005

Hi KALI, I also have never met anyone with my name so I was very surprised to type in Kali on the web and get all this awesome news about my name thanks be well! Kali

by Kali D. Payton on 19th Feb 2005

I've never met anyone with my name or ever seen it in a &quot;baby names&quot; book that tells its meaning, so I was glad to find this article. She is very interesting to read about, and now I can tell my friends where my name comes from.

by Kali on 13th Jan 2005

i need

by ayo

by kanyi on 8th Jan 2005

very nice

by dave on 28th Oct 2004

pls send me the photo ok kali

by dave on 28th Oct 2004

beautiful!

by Gita on 16th Oct 2004

- Angel 4 U -

by Angel 4 U on 30th Jun 2004

When will we get past the fact that Kali as Divine Mother is a Blackwomen the first women. No excuse for her blackskin neither should their be an excuse for Jesus's blackskin or Krisna or Nityananda or Buddah's blackskin this is the color of the original people from whom come all people of the planet we should honor this not with ego but with supernal reverance.

by Will on 4th May 2004

THANK YOU FOR YOUR EXCELLENT AND BEAUTIFUL WORK.

by VALÉRIA PACHECO on 6th Apr 2004

As has been aforementioned, thank you. I'm currently a student at University High School, and was recently given a research assignment. I was permitted to explore anything of intrest concerning Asia, so naturally I wanted to learn more about a topic that was empowering to women. Again, thank you so much. This has been a great help, both scholastically and spiritually.

by Leslie on 1st Apr 2004

i hate the fact that ppl show mother cali as the evil one and try to erase her from the world. wat bad did she do ?she hates men,she killed evil gods and godesses...this a symbol to all men that every woman ugly or pretty has a heart and strength to stand up for her right.

by Yentl on 5th Jan 2004

this article was very nice, and educated me about Kali.

by Ashu on 2nd Jan 2004

Excellent...thank you so much.

by chris on 27th Dec 2003

Thank you for such a touchingly beautiful article on my Beloved Kali Ma...infinite blessings from Her to the writer and to you all at Exotic India for such a moving explanation of the One I love....

by Marie on 30th Sep 2003

7/23/03 Every time this article about Maha Kali Maji is read, another level of Her Truth is revealed to this child's heart.
The Divine Mother has given you a great
gift...continue to use it well! All the Best...

the_homies_0869@yahoocom

by michael jasionis on 23rd Jul 2003

i found this article interesting and am looking for the hindu goddess of witchcraft if any one knows her name then email me at punkskaterab@hotmail.com

Namaste Nitir,
Once again you shed light for this Westerner seeking knowledge and understanding of the great Gods and Goddesses. When I first saw Shri Kali's image I was in complete shock! Never had I seen such a figure. This article has helped to put her image in perspective. Your knowledge is immense and I appreciate the way you share it so that one who is not literate in Eastern tongue can understand easliy. Thank you for your work. Your site is the most comprehensive on Dieties I have found. The images are gorgeous. Keep up the excellent work.
Om Namaha Shivaya
Sarah Strickling

Regarding Ramprasad (c.a. 1718-1775), I do not think Kali needs any "saving" from being other than a good Hindu wife. Perhaps it is Ramprasad himself, or (Hindu) men in general, who need be saved from misconceptions about what it means to be a good man &/or husband, in service and expression of the feminine that is embodied within women, wives, and themselves.

And as to this constant theme of being a child, and subservient to the Great Mother....pfui. Any good mother (any good parent) knows that her job is to help her child grow into a self-sufficient, aware, and grounded adult. Indeed, as our source, Kali is us. I don't think she needs us prostrate, as I am sure she is powerful enough to prefer us alert, aware, and responsible with/to the power (and everything else) that is our source, and nature.

I think all the supposed "mystery" serves more modern masculinist visions of the "unattainable" and therefore allows for experts to take over our lives to "save" us from our miserable selves. The Feminine must be honorably approached, but is there for creation. She is fluid, rich , and fertile....none of which is served by inaccessibility.

How "expert" and "priest" (and Christian?) to support confusion that allows for ill-conceived thought and resulting behaviours! We know what our mothers want from us....and no amount of "oh, poor little me" whining can hide that. I think the Goddess is quite happy to have us understand that if we listen, pay attention with the consciousness inherent in her creation, we know what there is to know.

The womb is terrifying only to those who are estranged from their own nature.

by Christine Masterson on 17th Oct 2002

Again, thanks for shedding the light of wisdom on a questionable matter for the American mind. I have a young friend whose father named her Kali, and I feel this article will help her become at peace with her name. I am forwarding it to her.

by Parandfir on 16th Oct 2002

Thank you so much for compiling this wonderful article! I am a westerner currently living in India, involved with a divine Indian man who is a 'student of Kali'...your article has given me a much deeper understanding and I want to know more! Again, many thanks.

by Belinda on 16th Oct 2002

Laura's Song

A young woman in Granada
Waits forever for her lover
And she whispers to the blooming
Orange planted by her father
"In this soil - my mother's tears...
In this weal - the lizards moan...
In this heart - my sweetheart's dreams...
In this world - I am alone.
Life is but my lover's joke...
Maybe weeping is the cure,
Let me weep in papa's garden
Where love is pure..."

Those flowers are my children
They shall bloom when I am gone.
They shall own this little orchard
They shall fall upon my bones
Life is just my lover's secret
Maybe tears are the cure
Let me shed them...
In this soil
Where love is pure.

As the dawn breaks, brilliant maze of dew
Virgin grass blades not yet bent by you.

by Lev Kamensky on 16th Oct 2002

Namaste', Thank you once again for a great compilation article on Kali. It made my day. Love,

by Trishula on 15th Oct 2002

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"This middle path lies in between extreme asceticism on one side, and extreme indulgence on the other…. When standing under a Ashok tree, tired and exhausted, she raised her right hand for seeking support of a branch of the tree…. The unique balance that defined his entire life was pre-determined in this duality….One day, in the palace garden he frightened his attendants…. He ate less and less till his diet reduced to a sesame seed, and himself, to a mere skeleton…. Seven days after the attainment of enlightenment gods sent food for breaking his fast…. However, he postponed his ‘nirvana’ for three months till he visited the places he had reminiscences of."

"The Bhagavad Gita, while describing the qualities of a wise person says…. This verse is vividly illustrated in the story of king Rantideva occurring in the Srimad Bhagavatam…. He did not believe in hoarding, was above all attachments and was highly patient…. They were all trembling due to starvation and thirst….bowed to the dogs and their owner…. What I want is only this: That I be able to go and live in the hearts of all beings and undergo sufferings on their behalf, so that they may become free from all miseries."

"Here is a fragment from one of the most poignant episodes of Indian history…. This piece of history is from the Mahabharata…. She was dying with shame but inside, like a true kshatrani (woman of the warrior race), she was burning with anger…. I have heard that women who follow dharma were never brought before a public court….Greed is the destroyer of dharma. I do not desire a third boon…. Draupadi was as forgiving as mother earth herself…. Just then Arjuna saw his dear friend Bhagawan Krishna approaching him…. “Leave him, leave him. He is a brahmin and worthy of our worship. Their mother should not cry, like I have at the death of my children."

"Once as he was engaged in puja, a saint came to visit him….Like a true householder attached to his family, Gajendra sported in the water with his wives, children and friends…. Understanding that his end was imminent, they all slowly withdrew, till Gajendra was left alone…. If we reflect on it calmly, we will realise that there is no house in the world where the story of Gajendra does not play out…. The one who is careful towards the end is able to reform his death….
Gajendra’s hymn of praise is one of the greatest philosophical poems in the annals of world literature."

"Only a certain fraction of this karma is chosen by God in order to form the blueprint of our next birth…. The fruit that one experiences in this birth is due to prarabdha and a portion of the present agami…. Similarly, a fish in the Ganga does not accrue punya because of always living in Ganga…. A good karma can be annulled by a bad karma and a bad one by a good one…. Sometimes we also hear that prarabdha cannot be got rid of. It has to be spent through…. Bhagawan Vyasa says that for the full result of the karma to manifest, three things are necessary…. Then how to understand the statement that prarabdha should unavoidably be experienced?"

"During one such sacrifice, nine spiritually charged men entered the sacrificial hall….As for Bhagavat Dharma, it is the dharma spoken by God directly from his own mouth…. Like a person eating food finds himself gratified simultaneously in three ways…. We are all constantly taught by spiritual texts to offer or dedicate all our actions to God. However, the question remains as to how to practically carry out this injunction…..The only fruit of wealth is dharma... Therefore, there is no need for the Vedas to enjoin us to these things for which we already have a tendency….The real intention of the Vedic injunctions in these matters is to make a person abstain from them…”

"It concedes that for an orderly social life a division into four groups based on the principle of varnadharma is necessary…. Each individual sometimes acts in a sattvika manner while at other times he may act in rajasic or tamasic manner, which means that the manifestation of a particular guna depends on circumstances…. Though all the three gunas are present in everyone, different persons are driven to act differently…. The karma that I have to perform should depend on my inherent gunas and should have the ability to regulate these gunas…. There is no instant transition to moksha…. An individual has to make his way towards moksha only through worldly life."

"We assume that our happiness is the result of an interaction with external objects…. Suppose that an individual is deprived of sleep and food and pleasurable objects for a long time and then all of them are simultaneously offered to him…. Actually, seeking the answer to this question is the most significant pursuit in life…. The veil comes up again and the duality returns…. In this background, we can now analyse the nature of dukha (grief)."

"There is Rama, the son of Ayodhya's king Dasharatha in his human birth, and there is Rama's divinity, his divine aura that overwhelms the Tulasi's entire Ramacharit-manas, one manifest - with attributes, and the other, unmanifest - without attributes. With main emphasis on his majesty in South Indian tradition this crown is taller than usual. His 'khadgasana' images are usually in three modes; one with his right foot moved forward represents him in a commander's disposition ready to rush for protecting a devotee in crisis or redeem him from some calamity. Harihara, a form in which he shares with Shiva half of the body. Basically a bird Garuda is seen for ages as Vishnu's ardent devotee, a learned human being and an auspicious presence, and in iconographic tradition often conceived with a man's face, anatomy, ornaments and ensemble. The Puranas are replete with tales of Garuda's divine exploits."

"She has always believed that this would redeem her of her distress….A coconut, otherwise an ordinary dried fruit or the source of edible, or at the most, beauty oil, has always been revered as an auspicious object effecting good and well-being and the food that gods most loved….The tree in the Buddhist tradition was later identified as Bodhi-tree, seated under which Buddha had attained Enlightenment….Body gestures and symptoms, signs, indications among others must have been the early man’s tools of communicating oneself and knowing and understanding the world around….Kirttimukha was initially conceived as a mystical mask….Lion does not figure in the wide range of animal toys or figurines excavated from Indus sites."

"Actually, the one who worships Bhagwan Vishnu should get rich and the one who worships Shiva should become an avadhuta like Him…. Then he works hard again to acquire wealth. I render all his efforts futile…. However, Bhagawan Vishnu is not like that, it takes longer to please Him…. As a consequence, they later harassed the great God Himself…. On the seventh day, he bathed in the holy waters of Kedarnath and began to cut his head with an axe to offer into the fire…. The boy bowed respectfully before the demon and asked…. No one who commits sin against a great person can be safe and happy in this world."

"Contrarily metaphysicians and theologians perceived his form as it manifested in the Upanishads and Puranas….The ‘Advaita’ philosophy also contends that the entire Creation is just the extension of One…. Dance illustrates one of the ever-first cosmic acts with which Shiva seems to have tamed violent motion and separated from it rhythm, moves that communicated emotions and states of mind – human mind and the cosmic, and disciplined and defined pace…. Unlike Vishnu who resorted to dance for accomplishing a contemplated objective, Shiva has been conceived more or less as a regular dancer performing for accomplishing an objective as also for pure aesthetic delight…. Unfurling locks of hair and his snakes floating into space portray the dynamics of the act."

"But to pull this statement out of context and give it as an advice for anyone is far from correct…. But how is one to recognise the guru? Obviously, he will be able to understand the difficulties of the disciples and clarify to them the meaning of the scriptures on the basis of logic and experience….
They will have to search in their own neighbourhood only….The guru chosen by him should be at least better than himself!…. Of course, if the ideal guru whose features have been enumerated in the beginning is available, then the sadhaka should immediately go and surrender to him…. It is just like going to another teacher for higher education, after completing the education in a school."

"Her epithet in the Devi-Mahatmya is Mahalakshmi. She is the wrathful four-armed goddess of battlefield represented holding in them various weapons…. A form of Lakshmi seated over a lotus laid over a golden seat and a pair of white elephants…. Except in some classical forms in Lakshmi-Narayana imagery Lakshmi is ordinarily two-armed…. Incarnation theory is the crux of Vaishnavism. Vishnu incarnates alone but Lakshmi also incarnates in simultaneity…. Though very rare some enthused artists have conceived on Ardhanarishvara line also Vishnu’s Ardhanarishvara images."

"Whenever he gets the time, he should go and live amongst people who have given up worldly life…. A wise person should serve his body and family only to the extent that is functionally necessary…. The person who lays claim on the surplus wealth is nothing but a thief…. He should share all objects of enjoyment with everyone, right down to dogs, sinners…. Such is the attachment to one’s wife….How despicable is this body, which if buried is going to become the food of worms, or excreta if eaten by animals….Since a son is to thus revere his elders even after their death, what to say that he is expected to serve them when they are alive…. The person wishing to follow the path of dharma should steer clear of the five forms of Adharma."